Communication processing system for working machine and communication processing method for working machine

ABSTRACT

A communication processing system for a working machine, includes a communication device disposed on the working machine, the communication device having a first communicator to transmit a first beacon, and a mobile terminal having a second communicator to be connected to the communication device when receiving the first beacon, the communication device having transmitted the first beacon. The first communicator transmits a second beacon other than the first beacon to the mobile terminal connected to the communication device in accordance with the first beacon.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 toJapanese Patent Application No. 2017-112791, filed Jun. 7, 2017, toJapanese Patent Application No. 2017-112792, filed Jun. 7, 2017, and toJapanese Patent Application No. 2017-112793, filed Jun. 7, 2017. Thesecontents of this application are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a communication processing system for aworking machine and to a communication method for the working machine.

Discussion of the Background

A technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2015-192328 is conventionally known as an access pointdevice for a working machine, the access point device being configuredto connect the working machine and a mobile terminal in wirelesscommunication with each other. The access point device for the workingmachine of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2015-192328 includes a storage part configured to store data of theworking machine, an identifier setting part configured to set a dataobtaining request stored in the storage part as a communicationidentifier that the mobile terminal can obtain, and a communicating partconfigured to transmit the communication identifier set by theidentifier setting part to the outside and to transmit the data storedin the storage part to the mobile terminal.

A technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2014-71707 is conventionally known as a technique fortransmitting operating information or the like of a working machine to amobile terminal. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2014-71707, in order for the mobile terminal to obtain the operationinformation, the mobile terminal firstly obtains the first permissionkey from a server (a first step), the mobile terminal transmits theobtained permission key to a communication device of the working machine(a second step), the validity of the permission key is judged by thecommunication device (a third step). When the validity of the permissionkey is authorized (a fourth step), the mobile terminal is connected tothe communication device (a fifth Step), and after a predeterminedprocessing (a sixth step), the mobile terminal can obtain the operationinformation transmitted from the communication device (a seventh step).

A technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2015-192328 is conventionally known as an access pointdevice for a working machine, the access point device being configuredto connect the working machine and a mobile terminal in wirelesscommunication with each other. The access point device for the workingmachine of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2015-192328 includes a storage part configured to store data of theworking machine, an identifier setting part configured to set a dataobtaining request stored in the storage part as a communicationidentifier that the mobile terminal can obtain, and a communicating partconfigured to transmit the communication identifier set by theidentifier setting part to the outside and to transmit the data storedin the storage part to the mobile terminal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A communication processing system for a working machine, includes acommunication device disposed on the working machine, the communicationdevice having a first communicator to transmit a first beacon, and amobile terminal having a second communicator to be connected to thecommunication device when receiving the first beacon, the communicationdevice having transmitted the first beacon. The first communicatortransmits a second beacon other than the first beacon to the mobileterminal connected to the communication device in accordance with thefirst beacon.

A communication processing method for a working machine, includes afirst transmission step of transmitting a first beacon to a mobileterminal from a communication device disposed on the working machine, aconnection execution step of connecting the mobile terminal to thecommunication device that has transmitted the first beacon, when themobile terminal receives the first beacon, and a second transmissionstep of transmitting a second beacon other than the first beacon fromthe communication device after the connection execution step.

A communication processing system for a working machine, includes acommunication device disposed on the working machine, the communicationdevice being configured to transmit machine information relating to theworking machine, and a mobile terminal to execute a connectionprocessing for connecting to the communication device and an obtainingprocessing for obtaining the machine information. The communicationdevice has a communicator to transmit a beacon including activationinformation for requesting the mobile terminal to start the obtainingprocessing, and connection information for executing the connectionprocessing.

A communication processing method for a working machine, which transmitsmachine information relating to the working machine from a communicationdevice disposed on the working machine to a mobile terminal, includes atransmission step of transmitting a beacon including activationinformation and connection information from the communication device tothe mobile terminal, an obtaining execution step of executing anobtaining processing when the mobile terminal receives the beacon, theobtaining processing obtaining the machine information upon reception ofthe activation information, and a connection execution step of executinga connection processing when the mobile terminal receives the beacon,the connection processing connecting to the communication device uponreception of the activation information

A communication processing system for a working machine, includes acommunication device disposed on the working machine and configured totransmit a plurality of beacons, and a mobile terminal to execute aprocessing when obtaining at least one of the plurality of beacons. Themobile terminal has a processor not to execute the processing whenobtaining a first beacon of the plurality of beacons, the first beaconincluding information identical to the information serving as a triggerfor executing the processing, and to execute the processing identical tothe processing executed based on the first beacon when obtaining asecond beacon other than the first beacon.

A communication processing method for a working machine, which executesa processing when a mobile terminal receives a first beacon and a secondbeacon transmitted by a communication device, includes a step ofexecuting a processing identical to the processing executed based on thefirst beacon when the second beacon is received after the processing isexecuted when the first beacon is received.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a data communication system for aworking machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an explanation view explaining connection between a mobileterminal and a communication device according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a flowchart of the connection between themobile terminal and the communication device according to theembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating one example of a packet of a beaconaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a relation between activation informationF1 and activation information G1 according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a state where a communication devicetransmits a first beacon B1 and a second beacon B2 according to theembodiment;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a flowchart of a case where the firstbeacon B1 and the second beacon B2 are transmitted to the mobileterminal according to the embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating a side surface of the workingmachine according to the embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The embodiments of the present invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding or identical elements throughout the variousdrawings. The drawings are to be viewed in an orientation in which thereference numerals are viewed correctly.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing an overall configuration of aworking machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present embodiment.In the present embodiment, a backhoe that is a swiveling working machineis exemplified as the working machine 1. In the embodiment, the backhoeis exemplified as the working machine 1. However, the working machinemay be an agricultural machine such as a tractor, a combine, and a ricetransplanter, a compact track loader, a skid steer loader, or the like.

First, the overall configuration of the working machine 1 will bedescribed

As shown in FIG. 8, the working machine 1 includes a machine body 2, atraveling device 3, and a working device 4. A cabin 5 is mounted on themachine body 2. An operator seat 6 is provided in the interior of thecabin 5.

In the explanation of the embodiment, the front side (the direction ofthe arrowed line A1 in FIG. 8) of the driver (an operator) seated on theoperator seat 6 of the working machine 1 is referred to as the front,the rear side (the direction of the arrowed line A2 in FIG. 8) of thedriver is referred to as the rear, the left side (the front surface sideof FIG. 8) of the driver is referred to as the left, and the right side(the back surface side of FIG. 8) of the driver is referred to theright.

In addition, the horizontal direction which is a direction orthogonal tothe front-to-back direction K1 will be described as a machine widthdirection. The direction from the center portion in a width direction ofthe machine body 2 toward the right portion or the left portion will bedescribed as a machine outward direction.

In other words, the machine outward direction means a directionseparating away from the center in the width direction of the machinebody 2, that is, in the machine width direction. A direction opposite tothe machine outward direction is referred to as a machine inwarddirection in the explanation. In other words, the machine inwarddirection is a direction approaching the center in the width directionof the machine body 2, that is, in the machine width direction.

As shown in FIG. 8, the traveling device 3 has a traveling body 3Lprovided on the left side and a traveling body 3R provided on the rightside. The traveling body 3L and the traveling body 3R are crawler typetraveling devices. A dozer device 7 is attached to the front portion ofthe traveling device 3. The dozer device 7 is configured to move upwardand downward (raise and lower a blade) by stretching and shortening thedozer cylinder.

The machine body 2 is a swiveling base (a turning base), and issupported on a traveling device 3 by a pivot bearing 8 so as to freelyturn about a longitudinal axis (an axis extending in the verticaldirection). The machine body 2 is pivotally driven by a turning motorconstituted of a hydraulic motor (the hydraulic actuator). The machinebody 2 has a swiveling base plate 9 and a weight 10, the swiveling baseplate 9 being configured to turn around the longitudinal axis. Theswiveling base plate 9 is formed of a steel plate or the like, and isconnected to the pivot bearing 8.

The weight 10 is provided at the rear portion of the machine body 2. Aprime mover E1 is mounted on the rear portion of the machine body 2. Theprime mover E1 is a diesel engine. The prime mover E1 may be an electricmotor or a hybrid type having a diesel engine and an electric motor.

The machine body 2 has a supporting bracket 13 at the front portionslightly rightward from the center in the machine width direction. Aswing bracket 14 is attached to the supporting bracket 13 so as to beswingable about the longitudinal axis. A working device 4 is attached tothe swing bracket 14.

As shown in FIG. 8, the working device 4 has a boom 15, an arm 16, and abucket (a working tool) 17. The base portion of the boom 15 is pivotallyattached to the swing bracket 14 so as to be rotatable about ahorizontal axis (an axis extending in the machine width direction).

In this manner, the boom 15 is freely swingable upward and downward inthe vertical direction. The arm 16 is pivotally attached to the tip endside of the boom 15 so as to be rotatable about the horizontal axis. Inthis manner, the arm 16 is configured to freely swing back and forth orup and down.

The bucket 17 is provided on the tip end side of the arm 16, andconfigured to perform a shoveling operation and a dumping operation.Instead of or in addition to the bucket 17, it is possible for theworking machine 1 to mount another working tool (an auxiliaryattachment) configured to be driven by the hydraulic actuator. As otherworking tools (the auxiliary attachments), a hydraulic breaker, ahydraulic crusher, an angle bloom, an earth auger, a pallet fork, asweeper, a mower, and a snow blower are exemplified.

The swing bracket 14 is configured to be swung freely by the stretchingand the shortening of the swing cylinder provided inside the machinebody 2. The boom 15 is configured to be swung freely by the stretchingand the shortening of the boom cylinder C3. The arm 16 is configured tobe swung by the stretching and the shortening of the arm cylinder C4.

The bucket 17 is configured to freely perform the shoveling operationand the dumping operation by the stretching and the shortening of thebucket cylinder (the working tool cylinder) C5. Each of the dozercylinder, the swing cylinder, the boom cylinder C3, the arm cylinder C4,and the bucket cylinder C5 is constituted of the hydraulic cylinder (thehydraulic actuator).

A operation device 19L is provided on the left side of the operator seat6 in the cabin 5, and a operation device 19R is provided on the rightside of the operator seat 6.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a data communication system for aworking machine. With reference to FIG. 1, the devices and the datacommunication system mounted on the working machine 1 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the working machine 1 has a control device 30. Thecontrol device 30 is a device configured to perform the controlsrelating to the working machine 1, and performs various types ofcontrols such as the hydraulic pressure control, the auto idle control(the AI control), the boom height control, the arm height control, andthe like.

Various types of sensors are connected to the control device 30, andvalues (the signals) detected by the sensors are inputted to the controldevice 30. For example, to the control device 30, an operation amount ofthe operation devices (the operation device 19L and the operation device19R) detected by a position sensor or the like, a governor angle (agovernor position) detected by a governor sensor, an operation amount(an operation extent) of an accelerator detected by a position sensor orthe like, an engine revolutions speed detected by the rotation sensor orthe like, an angle of the arm detected by an angle sensor or the like,and the angle of the boom detected by an angle sensor or the like areinputted.

In the hydraulic control, the control device 30 outputs a control signalto the proportional solenoid valve or the like in accordance with theoperation amount of the operation devices 19L and 19R, sets the openingaperture of the proportional solenoid valve, and thereby controls a flowrate control valve connected to the proportional solenoid valve. Thatis, the hydraulic control controls the flow rate control valveconfigured to control the hydraulic actuators (the swing cylinder, theboom cylinder C3, the arm cylinder C4, and the bucket cylinder) iscontrolled.

In the automatic idle control, when the operation devices 19L and 19Rare operated, the control device 30 outputs, to the engine, a controlsignal corresponding to the operation amount of the accelerator, therebyincreasing or decreasing the engine revolutions speed, and when theoperation devices 19L and 19R are not operated, the control device 30outputs, to the engine, a control signal indicating the idlingrevolutions speed, thereby keeping the engine revolutions speed at theidling state.

In the boom height control, when the height of the boom 15 reaches theupper limit value of the preset boom height in the boom height control,the control device 30 stops the raising movement of the boom 15irrespective of the operation of the operation devices 19L and 19R.

That is, in the boom height control, when the boom angle of the boom 15in the raising movement reaches the upper limit value, the controldevice controls the flow rate control valve corresponding to the boomcylinder C3, thereby stopping the raising movement of the boom 15.

In the angle control of the arm, when the arm angle reaches the upperlimit value or the lower limit value of a preset angle of the arm (anarm angle), the control device 30 stops the shoveling movement of thearm 16 irrespective to the operations of the operation devices 19L and19R.

That is, in the arm angle control, when the arm angle of the arm 16 inthe shoveling movement reaches the upper limit value or the lower limitvalue, the flow rate control valve corresponding to the arm cylinder C4is operated, and thereby the shoveling movement of the arm 16 isstopped.

As described above, the control device 30 is configured to controlvarious controls such as the hydraulic control, the auto idle control(the AI control), the boom height control, the arm height control, andthe like. Meanwhile, the controls described above is merely an exampleand is not limited to the controls mentioned above, and the controldevice 30 executes necessary control according to the modes of theworking machine 1.

The control device 30 includes a first storage part 33 and a timecounting part 34. The time counting part 34 is constituted ofelectric/electronic parts provided in the control device 30, programsstored in the control device 30, and the like. The time counting part 34calculates the operating time from the point of time when the enginerevolutions speed detected by the engine revolutions speed starts to beinputted to the control device 30 (the start of driving) to the point oftime when the inputting of the engine revolutions speed to the controldevice 30 ends (the end of driving).

In other words, the time counting part 34 obtains, by a timer or thelike, the time (the elapsed time) during which the engine is driven. Forexample, in the case where the engine is driven continuously from 9o'clock to 12 o'clock, the operation time (the elapsed time) is 3 hours.The time counting part 34 obtains an accumulated operation time (thehour meter) by accumulating the calculated operation time every timewhen the engine is driven (from the start of driving the engine to theend of driving the engine).

In the embodiment, the accumulated value of the operating time from thestart of driving the engine to the end of the driving is set as theaccumulated operating time. However, the time during which the drivingparts other than the engine is driven may be set as the accumulatedoperating time (the hour meter), and the accumulated operating time isnot limited to that of the engine. The first storage part 33 isconstituted of a nonvolatile memory or the like, and stores theaccumulated operation time counted by the time counting part 34.

As shown in FIG. 1, the working machine 1 has a communication device 40.The communication device 40 is a device configured to output data(information) of the working machine 1 to the outside of the workingmachine 1 and to take the external data into the working machine 1. Thecommunication device 40 has a first communicating part 41. The firstcommunicating part 41 is configured to be connected to an outside device(an external device) 50.

The first communicating part 41 is configured to output a broadcastsignal such as a beacon to the external device 50, and for example, toperform the wireless communication with the external device 50 in theBluetooth Low Energy (a registered trademark) and the like in thespecification of Bluetooth (a registered trademark) of the communicationstandard IEEE 802.15.1 series.

The communication device 40 includes a collecting part 42 and a storagepart 43. The collecting part 42 is constituted of electric/electronicparts provided in the communication device 40, programs stored in thecommunication device 40, and the like. The collecting part 42 isconfigured to collect the machine information on the working machine.

In particular, the communication device 40, the control device 30provided in the working machine 1, and the device such as a sensor areconnected by a communication line L1 or the like, and the collectingpart 42 obtains various signals (the data) flowing in the communicationline L as the machine information.

In particular, the collecting part 42 collects, as the machineinformation, the signals from the various sensors, the accumulatedoperation time, and the like obtained under the state where the controldevice 30 executes the control such as the auto idle control, the boomheight control, the arm height control, and the like.

In the embodiment described above, the signal and the accumulatedoperation information obtained in the case where the control device 30executes the controls are the machine information. However, the machineinformation collected by the collecting part 42 is not limited to thosementioned above. The collecting part 42 may collect information, as themachine information, relating to malfunction and warning of the devicesmounted on the working machine 1, or may collect the set values and thelike, as the machine information, of the devices of the working machine1. Any information on the working machine 1 may be collected as themachine information.

The storage part 43 is constituted of a nonvolatile memory or the like,and temporarily stores the machine information collected by thecollecting part 42. The machine information temporarily stored in thestorage part 43, that is, the machine information collected by thecollecting part 42 is transmitted to the external device 50 by thecommunication device 40 (the first communicating part 41).

The external device 50 is a tablet, a smartphone, a PDA or the like,that is, a mobile terminal that can be carried around. The mobileterminal 50 is configured to be connected to the communication device 40provided in the working machine 1, and is capable of transmitting andreceiving various data (information) to and from the communicationdevice 40. The mobile terminal 50 has a second communicating part 51.

The second communicating part 51 is constituted of components or thelike for performing the short-range communication and the long-rangecommunication, and is, for example, configured to perform the wirelesscommunication with the communication device 40 in the Bluetooth LowEnergy (a registered trademark) and the like in the specification ofBluetooth (a registered trademark) of the communication standard IEEE802.15.1 series. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the secondcommunicating part may be configured to perform the wirelesscommunication by a mobile phone communication network, a datacommunication network, a cellular phone communication network, or thelike.

The mobile terminal 50 includes a storage part 52, a display part 53,and a processing part 54. The storage part 52 is constituted of anonvolatile memory, and stores the machine information received from thecommunication device 40, various application software (theapplications), an operation system (an OS), and the like. The displaypart 53 is configured to display various information, and is constitutedof a liquid crystal panel or the like. The processing part 54 isconstituted of electric/electronic parts provided in the mobile terminal50, programs (the applications, the OS) stored in the mobile terminal50, and the like. The processing part 54 executes the various processingof the mobile terminal 50.

Next, the connection between the mobile terminal 50 and thecommunication device 40 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first communicating part 41 of the communicationdevice 40 outputs the beacon B. In the case where the mobile terminal 50(the second communicating part 51) is located outside the communicationarea E1 of the beacon B (the area where the beacon B can betransmitted), the processing part 54 does not execute the obtainingprocessing for obtaining the machine information.

The obtaining processing is a process of obtaining the machineinformation of the work machine 1, of reading, from the storage part 52,the application software (referred to as an obtaining application) forstoring the machine information in the mobile terminal 50, and then ofactivating the application software, the processing part 54 does notexecute the activation of the obtaining application when the mobileterminal 50 is positioned outside the communication area E1.

Meanwhile, it is to be noted that the obtaining application is anapplication for executing the processing for obtaining the machineinformation, and thus the mobile terminal 50 stores a program to beinstalled to the mobile terminal 50 to execute the obtaining processing,information (Service UUID, PIN code, and the like) necessary for theconnection between the mobile terminal 50 and the communication device40, and the activation information G1 mentioned below, and the like.

In the case where the mobile terminal 50 is within the communicationarea E1, the processing part 54 executes the start of the obtainingprocessing for obtaining the machine information at the point when thesecond communicating part 51 of the mobile terminal 50 receives thebeacon B, and activates the obtaining application. The processing part54 executes the connection processing after activating the obtainingapplication (after the start of the obtaining processing).

In the connection processing, at least the processing part 54 instructsthe second communicating part 51 to connect with the communicationdevice 40. In response to the instruction from the processing part 54,the second communicating part 51 transmits a connection request to thecommunication device 40, and the communication between the communicationdevice 40 and the second communicating part 51 is performed. When thecommunication is established between the communication device 40 and thesecond communicating part 51, the processing part 54 causes theoperation (processing) of the obtaining application or the like toobtain the machine information transmitted from the communication device40.

When the obtaining of the machine information is completed, theprocessing part 54, for example, terminates the connection process atthe timing when the second communicating part 51 receives a signalindicating that the machine information to be transmitted from thecommunication device 40 has been transmitted, and disconnects thecommunication between the second communicating part 51 and thecommunication device 40. After disconnection of the communication withthe second communicating part 51, the communication device 40 outputsthe beacon B again.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the connection between the mobile terminal50 and the communication device 40. With reference to FIG. 3, theconnection between the mobile terminal 50 and the communication device40 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 3, among all of the machine information stored in thestorage part 43 (all the machine information), the communication device40 judges whether the data size of the machine information that has notbeen transmitted to the mobile terminal 50 (the untransmittedinformation) is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S1).

In the case where the data size of the untransmitted information isequal to or larger than the predetermined size (S1, Yes), the firstcommunicating part 41 of the communication device 40 transmits thebeacon B to request the mobile terminal 50 to obtain the machineinformation (S2: a transmission step).

When the second communicating part 51 of the mobile terminal 50 receivesthe beacon B (S3), the processing part 54 judges whether to execute theobtaining processing on the basis of the information included in thebeacon B (S4).

FIG. 4 shows a packet (an advertisement packet) Q1 of beacon B. As shownin FIG. 4, the packet Q1 includes the activation information F1 and theconnection information F2. The activation information F1 is informationserving as a trigger of the start of obtaining processing.

In the case where the activation information F1 included in the beacon B(the packet Q1) transmitted by the communication device 40 and theactivation information G1 identical to the activation information F1 arestored in the storage part 52 of the mobile terminal 50, the processingpart 54 determines to execute the obtaining processing (S4, Yes).

On the other hand, in the case where the activation information F1included in the beacon B (the packet Q1) transmitted by thecommunication device 40 and the activation information G1 identical tothe activation information F1 are not stored in the storage part 52 ofthe mobile terminal 50, the processing part 54 determines not to executethe obtaining processing (S4, No).

FIG. 5 shows the relation between the activation information F1 of thebeacon B transmitted by the communication device 40 and the activationinformation G1 stored in the storage part 52 of the mobile terminal 50.As shown in FIG. 5, in the case where the activation information F1transmitted by the communication device 40 is a numeral “5411” and theactivation information G1 stored in the storage part 52 of the mobileterminal 50 is a numeral “5411”, both of the activation information areidentical to each other, and thus the processing part 54 determines toexecute the obtaining processing.

On the other hand, in the case where the activation information F1transmitted by the communication device 40 is a numeral “5400” and thenumeral “5400” is not stored in the activation information G1 stored inthe storage part 52 of the mobile terminal 50, both of the activationinformation are not identical to each other, and thus the processingpart 54 determines not to execute the obtaining processing.

Meanwhile, in the embodiment described above, the obtaining processingis executed in the case where the activation information G1 identical tothe activation information F1 of the beacon B is stored in the mobileterminal 50. However, instead of that, the processing part 54 mayexecute the obtaining processing in the case where the mobile terminal50 stores the activation information G1 associated with the activationinformation F1 of the beacon B.

When the processing part 54 determines to execute the obtainingprocessing (Yes, S4), the processing part 54 executes the start of theobtaining processing and activates the obtaining application (S5: anobtaining execution step).

Upon completion of activation of the obtaining application, theprocessing part 54 executes connection processing (S6: connectionexecution step).

For example, after the execution of the connection processing, theprocessing part 54 performs the connection processing to thecommunication device 40 using the connection information F2 received.The connection information F2 is information for connecting with thecommunication device 40, that is, the service UUID, the PIN code, andthe like, for example. And, the second communicating part 51 transmitsthe service UUID or the PIN code to the communication device 40, andthereby the connection between the mobile terminal 50 and thecommunication device 40 is established.

The process relating to the connection between the mobile terminal 50and the communication device 40 is the same as the conventional process,and executes the authentication of the service UUID or the PIN code.

After connecting to the mobile terminal 50 (the second communicatingpart 51), the communication device 40 transmits the machine informationstored in the storage part 43 (the untransmitted machine information) tothe mobile terminal 50 (S7).

The communication device 40 notifies the mobile terminal 50 that thetransmission of the machine information is completed. When theprocessing part 54 receives that the transmission of the machineinformation is completed, the processing part 54 determines that theobtaining of the machine information is completed (S8), and requests thedisconnection to the communication device 40 (S9).

In response to the disconnection request from the mobile terminal 50,the communication device 40 executes the disconnection of thecommunication with the mobile terminal 50, and transmits a notificationof the completion of the disconnection to the mobile terminal 50 (S10).

When the mobile terminal 50 receives the completion of thedisconnection, the processing part 54 terminates the connectionprocessing (S11: a connection terminating step).

After the communication with the mobile terminal 50 is disconnected, thecommunication device 40 returns to the process of outputting the beaconB, and continuously outputs the beacon B repeatedly every time when theconnection terminating step is completed. In addition, the mobileterminal 50 stores the machine information received from thecommunication device 40 in the storage part 52.

The machine information stored in the storage part 52 of the mobileterminal 50 can be displayed on the display part 53 and can betransmitted to an external device other than the mobile terminal 50, forexample, to a server, a personal computer, or the like.

According to the above description, the data communication system forthe working machine including the communication device 40 and the mobileterminal 50 configured to execute the connection processing and theobtaining processing, the communication device 40 transmits the beacon Bincluding the activation information F1 requesting the mobile terminal50A to start the obtaining processing and the connection information F2requesting the execution of the connection processing.

In addition, the mobile terminal 50 starts the obtaining processing whenobtaining the activation information F1 and executes the connectionprocess after the starting of the obtaining processing, and thereby themobile terminal 50 obtains the machine information from thecommunication device 40.

In this manner, the mobile terminal 50 can execute the obtainingprocessing and the connection process only by receiving the beacon Btransmitted from the communication device 40, and the mobile terminal 50automatically obtains the machine information of the working machine 1upon reception of the reception of the beacon B serving as the trigger.

In addition, only when the operator who owns the working machine or theoperator who operates the working machine carries the mobile terminal50, the mobile terminal 50 automatically obtains the machine informationof the working machine 1 without operations by the operator.

In addition, the processing part 54 terminates the connection processingwhen the obtaining of the machine information is completed. Thus, sincethe connection process is terminated when the mobile terminal 50 obtainsthe machine information, it is possible to prevent the mobile terminal50 and the communication device 40 from being connected unlimitedly toeach other, and the communication device 40 is capable of newlytransmitting the beacon B to the other mobile terminal 50.

For example, in the case where the first mobile terminal owned by theoperator A, the second mobile terminal owned by the operator B andfurther the first mobile terminal and the second mobile terminal arepresent in the communication area E1, the connection processing isterminated immediately after the first mobile terminal obtains themachine information from the communication device 40, and thus thesecond mobile terminal can obtain the machine information from thecommunication device 40.

In addition, the communication device 40 continuously transmits thebeacon including the activation information F1 and the connectioninformation F2 repeatedly. Thus, after disconnection of thecommunication with a predetermined one of the mobile terminals 50, thecontrol device 40 can immediately make a connection with another one ofthe mobile terminals 50, and thus can transmit the machine informationto the another one of the mobile terminals 50.

Meanwhile, the communication device 40 is configured to transmit aplurality of beacons. For example, the communication device 40 isconfigured to transmit separately, at different timings, the firstbeacon B1 and the second beacon B2 including the second activationinformation.

The first beacon B1 and the second beacon are beacons each includingdifferent information. The first beacon B1 includes the first activationinformation, and the second beacon B2 includes the second activationinformation.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the communication device 40 transmits thefirst beacon B1 and the second beacon B2 to a predetermined one of themobile terminals 50. For example, the connection between thecommunication device 40 and the mobile terminal 50 will be described onthe assumption that the first activation information is a numeral “5411”and the second activation information is a numeral “5412”.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the case where the mobile terminal 50 receivesthe first beacon B1 at the position P1 that is a boundary of thecommunication area E1, the first beacon B1 including the firstactivation information, the mobile terminal 50 stores the activationinformation identical to the first activation information as shown inFIG. 5, and thus the processing part 54 of the mobile terminal 50executes the obtaining processing and the connection processing.

After that, in the case where the mobile terminal 50 receives the firstbeacon B1 same as the beacon received at the position P1 at the positionP2 in the communication area E1, the first beacon B1 being same as thebeacon received at the position P1, that is, in the case where themobile terminal 50 receives the first beacon B1 at the position P2different from the position P1, the first beacon B1 including theactivation information same as the activation information that serves asa trigger of starting the obtaining processing at the position P1, theprocessing part 54 does not execute the obtaining processing.

In addition, in the case where the mobile terminal 50 receives thesecond beacon B2 different from the first beacon B1 at the position P3within the communication area E1, the processing part 54 starts theprocessing same as the processing executed on the first beacon B1, thatis, the obtaining processing, and thereby activates the obtainingapplication, taking the reception of the second beacon B2 as a trigger.Then, the mobile terminal 50 obtains the machine information from thecommunication device 40 by performing the connection processing afterthe start of the obtaining processing.

That is, in the case where the obtaining processing is executed in thecommunication area E1, taking with the reception of the first beacon B1as a trigger, the mobile terminal 50 executes the obtaining processingwhen receiving the second beacon B2 different from the first beacon B1without executing the obtaining processing even when receiving the samefirst beacon B1 after that.

Note that, in the case where the obtaining processing is executed takingwith the reception of the second beacon B2 as a trigger, the mobileterminal 50 does not execute the obtaining processing even when thesecond beacon B2 identical to the second beacon B2 mentioned above isreceived thereafter, and the mobile terminal 50 executes the obtainingprocessing when receiving a beacon different from the first beacon B1and the second beacon B2.

According to the above description, when the mobile terminal 50 receivesthe beacon having the same activation information in a plurality oftimes under the state where the mobile terminal 50 is located within thecommunication area E1, the mobile terminal 50 does not execute theobtaining processing by the beacon transmitted at the second time andthereafter.

Meanwhile, in the case where the mobile terminal 50 receives the beacon(referred to as an old beacon) within the communication area E1, themobile terminal 50 moves out of the communication area E1 and falls tobeing unable to receive the old beacon after executing the obtainingprocessing triggered by the reception of the old beacon, and thenfurther the mobile terminal 50 reenters the communication area E1 againand receives the beacon identical to the old beacon, the obtainingprocessing may be executed at least once upon reception of the beaconidentical to the old beacon as a trigger.

That is, in the case where the mobile terminal 50 moves out of thecommunication area E1 and falls into the state in which it is unable toreceive the first beacon B1 or the second beacon B2 once, the mobileterminal 50 may perform the obtaining processing on the basis of thefirst beacon B1 or the second beacon B2.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the case where the communication device 40transmits the first beacon B1 and the second beacon B2 to apredetermined one of the mobile terminals 50. In the explanation of FIG.7, the description proceeds with the assumption that a predetermined oneof the mobile terminals 50 does not move out of the communication areaE1 after entering the communication area E1 once.

In FIG. 7, the steps S1 to S3 and the steps S5 to S11 are the same asthose in FIG. 6 except the transmission of the beacon B1 by thecommunication device 40.

In the case where the data size of the unsent information is equal to orgreater than a predetermined size and the communication device 40requests the connection to the mobile terminal 50 (S1, Yes), the firstcommunicating part 41 of the communication device 40 transmits the firstbeacon B1 (S2: a first transmission step).

When the second communicating part 51 of the mobile terminal 50 receivesthe first beacon B1 (S3), the processing part 54 judges whether or notto execute the obtaining processing on the basis of the informationincluded in the first beacon B1 (S4).

When the activation information included in the first beacon B1 isstored in the storage part 52 of the mobile terminal 50 and theobtaining processing has never performed based on the first beacon B1,the processing part 54 determines to execute the obtaining processing(S4, Yes).

On the other hand, in the case where the activation information includedin the first beacon B1 is not stored in the storage part 52 of themobile terminal 50, or in the case where the obtaining processing hasalready performed based on the first beacon B1 even when the activationinformation included in the first beacon B1 is stored in the storagepart 52, the processing part 54 determines not to execute the obtainingprocessing (S4, No).

After the processing at S4, the communication device 40 and the mobileterminal 50 execute steps S5 to S10 as described above.

After connecting to the mobile terminal 50 on the basis of the firstbeacon B1 (after S11), the communication device 40 judges whether or notthe data size of unsent information is equal to or greater than apredetermined value (S20).

In the case where the data size of unsent information is equal to orgreater than the predetermined value and the request for the connectionis made to the mobile terminal 50 (S20, Yes: a second transmissionstep), the first communicating part 41 transmits the second beacon B2(S21).

In other words, in the second transmission step, when the machineinformation stored in the storage part 43 is updated after thetransmission of the first beacon B1 and the mobile terminal 50 isrequested to obtain the updated machine information, the second beaconB1 is transmitted.

When the second communicating part 51 of the mobile terminal 50 receivesthe second beacon B2 (S22), the processing part 54 judges whether or notto execute the obtaining processing on the basis of the informationincluded in the second beacon B2 (S23).

In the case where the activation information included in the secondbeacon B2 is stored in the storage part 52 of the mobile terminal 50 andthe obtaining processing has been never performed on the basis of thesecond beacon B2, the processing part 54 determines to execute theobtaining processing (S23, Yes).

On the other hand, in the case where the activation information includedin the second beacon B2 is not stored in the storage part 52 of themobile terminal 50, or in the case where the obtaining processing hasalready been performed on the basis of the second beacon B2 even whenthe activation information included in the second beacon B2 is stored inthe storage part 52, the processing part 54 determines not to executethe obtaining processing (S23, No).

When determining that the obtaining processing is to be executed (S23,Yes), the processing part 54 starts the obtaining processing andactivates the obtaining application (S24).

That is, also in the case where the processing part 54 receives thesecond beacon B2, the processing part 54 executes the processing same asthe processing based on the first beacon B1.

In other words, even when a plurality of application software programsare stored in the mobile terminal 50, the same application software isactivated in the obtaining processing in both of the case of receivingthe first beacon B1 and the case of receiving the first beacon B2.

Upon completion of the activation of the obtaining application, theprocessing part 54 executes the connection processing (S25: a connectionexecution step).

The communication device 40 transmits the machine information stored inthe storage part 43 (S26).

After obtaining the machine information, the processing part 54 issues adisconnection request to the communication device 40 (S27).

The communication device 40 executes disconnection of the communicationwith the mobile terminal 50 and transmits, to the mobile terminal 50, anotification of completion of the disconnection (S28).

When the mobile terminal 50 receives the disconnection completion, theprocessing part 54 terminates the connection processing (S29: aconnection terminating step).

According to the above, the communication device 40 (the firstcommunicating part 41) is configured to transmit a plurality of thebeacons, and the processing part 54 does not execute the processing whenreceiving a first beacon B1 of the plurality of beacons, the firstbeacon B1 including the information identical to the information servingas a trigger for executing the processing, and to execute the processingwhen obtaining the second beacon B2 different from the first beacon B1.

That is, in the case where the processing part 54 obtains the firstbeacon B1 including the activation information same as the activationinformation serving as the trigger for starting the processing out ofthe plurality of beacons, the processing part 54 does not execute theobtaining processing, and when obtaining the second beacon B2 having theactivation information different from that of the first beacon B1, theprocessing part 54 executes the obtaining processing.

According to the configuration, the mobile terminal 50 can be caused toexecute arbitrary processing triggered by the first beacon B1 and thesecond beacon B2 under the state where the mobile terminal 50 is locatedin the communication area E1.

For example, in the case where the process triggered by the first beaconB1 and the second beacon B2 is the obtaining processing, the mobileterminal 50 can automatically obtain the machine information separatelyat the different timings while staying in the communication area E1.

In addition, the mobile terminal 50 has a storage part 52 configured tostore the first activation information and the second activationinformation, the first activation information being associated with thefirst beacon B1, the second activation information being associated withthe second beacon B2. The processing part 54 executes the identicalprocessing in both of the case where the processing part 54 obtains thefirst beacon B1 corresponding to the first activation information storedin the storage part 52 and the case where the processing part 54 obtainsthe second beacon B2 corresponding to the second activation informationstored in the storage part 52.

In this manner, under the state where the mobile terminal 50 is locatedin the communication area E1, the mobile terminal 50 can execute theidentical processing respectively triggered by first beacon B1 and thesecond beacon B2.

For example, in the case where an application software is installed inthe mobile terminal 50, the application software can be activated atdifferent timings depending on the first beacon B1 and the second beaconB2.

The first communicating part 41 transmits the second beacon B2 in thecase of requesting the connection to the mobile terminal 50 afterconnecting to the mobile terminal 50 in accordance with the first beaconB1. under the state where the mobile terminal 50 is located in thecommunication area E1, the working machine 1 (the first communicatingpart 41) can connect to the mobile terminal 50 at different timingsseparately on the basis of the first beacon B1 and the second beacon B2.

In addition, the communication device 40 includes the collecting part 42and the storage part 43. The first communicating part 41 transmits thefirst beacon B1 in the case where the first communicating part 41requests the mobile terminal 50 to obtain the machine information storedin the storage part 43.

In this manner, it is possible to transmit the machine information ofthe working machine 1 to a predetermined one of the mobile terminals 50in accordance with the first beacon B1. In the case where the secondcommunicating part 51 obtains the second beacon B2, the secondcommunicating part 51 connects to the communication device 50 that hastransmitted the second beacon B2.

In addition, in the case where the machine information stored in thestorage part is updated after the transmission of the first beacon B1and the first communication part 41 requests the mobile terminal 50 toobtain the machine information updated, the first communicating part 41transmits the second beacon B2.

In this manner, in the case where the machine information of the workingmachine 1 is updated after the machine information of the workingmachine 1 is transmitted to a predetermined one of the mobile terminals50 in accordance with the first beacon B1, the machine informationupdated can be transmitted to the mobile terminal 50.

In the above description, the embodiment of the present invention hasbeen explained. However, all the features of the embodiments disclosedin this application should be considered just as examples, and theembodiments do not restrict the present invention accordingly. A scopeof the present invention is shown not in the above-described embodimentsbut in claims, and is intended to include all modifications within andequivalent to a scope of the claims.

In the embodiment described above, the system for collecting the machineinformation of the working machine 1 has been described. However,instead of the system, the embodiment may be applied to the system (ananti-theft system) for transmitting the authentication information fromthe external equipment 50 such as the mobile terminal to the workingmachine 1.

In the case where the beacon is received, the anti-theft systemtransmits the authentication information from the mobile terminal 50 tothe working machine 1.

In addition, the working machine 1 side (the control device 30 side)executes the authentication process for authenticating between theauthentication information stored in the control device 30 and theauthentication information transmitted from the mobile terminal 50, andthen permits the starting of the prime mover E1 after the establishmentof authentication of the authentication information and does not permitthe starting of the prime mover E1 when the authentication is notestablished.

In that case, the obtaining application is an application software fortransmitting the authentication information stored in advance in themobile terminal 50 when the mobile terminal 50 receives the beacon.

In addition, the obtaining application may be an application softwareintegrating an application software that performs the processingrelating to the anti-theft (the transmission of the authenticationinformation) and an application software that collects the machineinformation of the working machine 1.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication processing system for a workingmachine, comprising: a communication device disposed on the workingmachine, the communication device having a first communicator totransmit a first beacon, a collecting circuitry to collect machineinformation relating to the working machine, and a storage to store themachine information collected by the collecting circuitry; and, a mobileterminal having a second communicator to be connected to thecommunication device upon receiving the first beacon, the communicationdevice having transmitted the first beacon, wherein the firstcommunicator disconnects from the second communicator which has beenconnected upon receiving the first beacon, and transmits a second beaconother than the first beacon to the mobile terminal to again connect thefirst communicator with the second communicator when the machineinformation stored in the storage is updated after the first beacon istransmitted, and the communication device requests the mobile terminalto obtain the updated machine information.
 2. The communicationprocessing system according to claim 1, wherein the first communicatortransmits the second beacon when a data size of the machine informationupdated after the first beacon is transmitted is equal to or greaterthan the predetermined value.
 3. The communication processing systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the second communicator is connected tothe communication device that has transmitted the second beacon uponreception of the second beacon.
 4. A communication processing method fora working machine, comprising: a storing to store and update machineinformation relating to a working machine by a communication devicedisposed on the working machine; a first transmission transmitting afirst beacon to a mobile terminal from the communication device; aconnection execution connecting the mobile terminal to the communicationdevice that has transmitted the first beacon, when the mobile terminalreceives the first beacon; a disconnection disconnecting the mobileterminal from the communication device which has been connected uponreceiving the first beacon; and a second transmission transmitting asecond beacon other than the first beacon from the communication deviceafter the disconnection to again connect the communication device withthe mobile terminal when the communication device requests the mobileterminal to obtain the stored and updated machine information.
 5. Thecommunication processing method according to claim 4, wherein the secondtransmission including transmitting the second beacon when a data sizeof the machine information stored and updated after the first beacon istransmitted is equal to or greater than the predetermined value.
 6. Acommunication processing system for a working machine comprising: acommunication device disposed on the working machine, the communicationdevice being configured to transmit machine information relating to theworking machine; and a mobile terminal to execute a connectionprocessing for connecting to the communication device and an obtainingprocessing for obtaining the machine information, wherein thecommunication device has a communicator to transmit a beacon including:activation information for requesting the mobile terminal to start theobtaining processing; connection information for executing theconnection processing, wherein the mobile terminal has a processor tostart the obtaining processing when obtaining the activationinformation, to execute the connection processing after the obtainingprocessing starts, and thereby to obtain the machine information fromthe communication device; wherein the processor terminates theconnection processing when the machine information has been obtained;wherein the communicator transmits a plurality of beacons each havingthe activation information different from one another; and wherein theprocessor does not execute the obtaining processing when receiving afirst beacon of the plurality of beacons, the first beacon including theactivation information identical to the activation information servingas a trigger for starting the obtaining processing, and executes theobtaining processing when receiving a second beacon including theactivation information different from the activation information of thefirst beacon.
 7. The communication processing system according to claim6, wherein the communication device repeatedly and continuouslytransmits the beacons each including the activation information and theconnection information.
 8. The communication processing system accordingto claim 6, wherein the mobile terminal has a storage to store theactivation information, and wherein the processor starts the obtainingprocessing when obtaining the activation information stored in thestorage.
 9. A communication processing method for a working machine,which transmits machine information relating to the working machine froma communication device disposed on the working machine to a mobileterminal, comprising: a transmission transmitting a beacon includingactivation information and connection information from the communicationdevice to the mobile terminal; an obtaining execution executing anobtaining processing when the mobile terminal receives the beacon, theobtaining processing obtaining the machine information upon reception ofthe activation information; a connection execution executing aconnection processing when the mobile terminal receives the beacon, theconnection processing connecting to the communication device uponreception of the activation information; and a connection terminationterminating the connection processing when the machine information isobtained, wherein in the obtaining execution, the obtaining processingis started when the mobile terminal receives the activation information,wherein in the connection execution, the connection processing isexecuted after the obtaining execution starts, wherein in thetransmission, first and second beacons is transmitted, which have theactivation information different from each other, and wherein in theobtaining execution, the obtain processing is not executed whenreceiving the first beacon serving as a trigger for starting theobtaining processing, and the obtain processing is executed whenreceiving the second beacon.